Memorable teachers have a rationale or teaching philosophy that guides them to develop a learning environment that has a lasting impact on many of their students. The characteristics of such a learning environment could take years to refine in the face of many obstacles and negative pressures. Your guiding vision is an essential beacon for growing as a teacher!
How does a teacher develop a durable vision of his or her teaching. You were asked to reflect on what inspired you to teach and begin working on this vision in the first weeks of EDC 430. After observing your CT's classes, you were asked to refine this vision again at the end of the Fall semester. Now that you are a more experienced classroom teacher and are preparing to compete for a science teaching position, it is a good time to reflect on your observations and experiences that occurred over the year and refine and clarify your vision by considering these questions:
What kind of teacher do you want to be? What kind of teacher do you NOT want to be?
What lasting impact do you want have on each of your students?
What are you going to strive to accomplish in your upcoming teaching position?
How will your learning environment express your beliefs about teaching?
To prepare for this task, I have assembled some of your writings and observations along with your current teaching rationale. After considering these past writings, you can refine your rationale by clicking on the little "edit" button on the right side of the last section at the bottom of this page. If it is no longer applicable, you may choose to delete or update your iBrainstorm graphic if it is still at the bottom of your rationale statement.
Teaching Inspiration
My inspiration to pursue teaching came from many different directions. The first influence towards teaching came from my family. My mother was a teacher, teaching first and second grades and later as a reading specialist, she taught for over 25 years before she had to take a disability retirement. However, my mother wasn't the only teacher in the family, her mother was a teacher, teaching high school English, her father taught for a time, my aunt was a teacher, teaching fourth and fifth grades, as well as my great aunt and my mother's cousin. Teaching is part of our family, and I grew up thinking I would become a teacher myself.
The second influence towards teaching was my high school chemistry teacher, Mr. Alsin. I had Mr. Alsin for two years of chemistry in high school, and his class was where I first fell in love with chemistry -- this logical, mathematical science -- which quickly became my favorite class. He kept the subject interesting, introducing laboratory experiments very early in the year, providing different instructional methods for key concepts in addition to those from the book, and genuinely enjoyed his job and the subject. I even remember him hosting other people who worked in science and were considering switching careers to teaching during our AP chemistry class, and I remember thinking that might be a possibility for me as well. As I had transitioned from middle school to high school, my proclivity for math and science lead my teachers to suggest engineering as a career, and it sounded interesting to me and was supported by my parents, so my inclination began to switch from teaching to engineering. But having fallen in love with chemistry at the hands of Mr. Alsin, I chose to study chemical engineering. When I decided to switch my major from engineering to Chemistry, Mr. Alsin was the person I consulted about choosing the best program when I was transferring schools.
The third and final influence towards teaching is my husband and children. When I married my husband, an active duty Marine, we were lucky enough to be stationed in San Diego where the biotech industry provided opportunities for me to work as a chemist and auditor. We were stationed there for four years and I loved my job working in the pharmaceutical industry, learning all about both the regulatory, paperwork side of drug development as well as the laboratory science side of it. However, being a military family we soon moved across the country to North Carolina, which has some great biotech industry areas as well, though we lived near the Marine Corps base which was two and a half hours away in a small coastal town. I did work with a cosmetic and over-the-counter drug company but once I had my son I stayed home with him as the commute was not worth the paycheck. Again the military sent us across the country, again back to San Diego but this time to the north county area. After having my daughter I began to be anxious to return to the "adult" world where I soon realized that my three year absence from the work force would mean virtually starting over at a biotech company, and the commute to the majority of companies would be prohibitive due to distance and traffic with small children. Again the idea of teaching as a better portable career, especially now that I have my two children, began to crop up in my mind.
I decided to look into the teacher certification program through the California State University system since my friend had recently completed the program and highly recommended it. I was looking into the prerequisites I needed prior to applying to the program when we got notified that we were to move to Rhode Island the next month. Sadly this news came while we were at my mother's funeral. Now more than ever I really just felt the need to teach, to be closer to my mother, to bring my love of chemistry to another generation. Once we arrived in Rhode Island, I began looking at the various universities to see if any of them had a program that would allow me to become a chemistry teacher as a graduate student and found URI.
4/5 Sarah - Nicely done. You should add an introductory paragraph that provides an overview/foreshadowing of the influences in your decision to teach. You should look again at your last paragraph to make sure it sums up your experiences as a conclusion.
CT's Teaching Style
Prompt: During this visit, you should work with one or more groups of students if you haven't already, and observe your teacher doing the same. For this journal entry, describe your teacher's teaching style. What type of relationships with students does he or she nurture in his or her classes? How do students perceive that power is distributed in the classes? Does this vary within or across the different classes the teacher has? Cite examples from your observations to support your inferences. Remember to reflect on what style of teaching you will gravitate toward and the how you want to be perceived by your students.
Observations:
Today, Mrs. Cykert's chemistry students did their first inquiry activity of the year, an activity to determine the density of pennies, and to use the density to determine the composition of the pennies, observing whether the composition seems to vary with the mint date. The students were instructed to form groups of 3 of their own choosing (an evenly divisible number for the class that day) though there ended up being 3 different groups of two who wanted to work together. Mrs. Cykert instructed one of the pairs that they must split up and could each choose which of the other pairs to join unless they wanted her to choose for them. Once the groups were successfully formed, Mrs. Cykert distributed the handout for the activity, which is designed to be an initial inquiry for students, and as such is structured with some questions designed to activate background knowledge and a clear purpose for inquiry, leaving the methodology up to the students. As the students began to answer the questions and formulate their procedures, Mrs. Cykert and I circulated through the classroom, stopping with the groups, asking if they were doing well, and answering questions. When students had a general question along the lines of "how do we do this?" Mrs. Cykert would respond with her own question, guiding them back to the activity. She might ask them what the goal was, what the previous question concerned, or clarified the wording of the question that was written, but never gave the answer to them. I modeled my own actions on this behavior, and tried my best to help the students understand what they needed to do without just telling them what to do.
Mrs. Cykert seems to have a good working relationship with most of her students. There are a few students who appear to be the "typical" defiant, anti-authority teenagers who question most things she says or asks of them, but for the most part, her students seem to not only respect but like her as well. Having taught at the school for almost 10 years, she knows the families of many of her students, and often knows students' personally. This mostly comes from her desire to help her students achieve at high levels regardless of their financial or cultural background, while at the same time taking their home situations into consideration when interacting with her students. She makes an effort to ask students how they are feeling if they have been out of class for a few days or if they appear unwell. She comments on a student who was wearing a varsity soccer jacket, telling her it looked good on her -- a way of congratulating the girl for making the team. The students are not hesitant to ask questions, but at the same time they seem to put forth effort to complete the activity without expecting her to tell them exactly what to do.
Reflections:
I really identify with Mrs. Cykert's style of interacting with her students. She doesn't try to be their friend, yet she still makes an effort to know about their lives and what other obligations they may have. Her students are comfortable with her and her classroom is a safe environment for the students. I want to have this type of classroom when I teach. I want it to be somewhere the students are comfortable, free from bullying or outside pressures. I want my students to know that I care about them as people, but that my main goal is still to make sure they learn how to become responsible citizens who can think for themselves.
Class Topic: College Prep Chemistry, Penny Density Inquiry activity Grade: 10, 11, 12 Observed by: Sarah Evans
CT's Classroom Management
Prompt: In this observation, pay attention to how your teacher manages his or her classroom. What types of disruptions, if any, occur while you're visiting? How do they set the class in motion? How do they deal with interruptions (from the outside) and disruptions (from their students)? Determine whether there are students in the classes that you will teach that are especially troublesome. Ask your CT how he or she addresses these students' needs. Reflect on your "vision" of an ideal science classroom. What classroom policies will you try to implement in YOUR classroom? How does your vision align with your teaching philosophy?
Observations:
Mrs. Cykert's chemistry class generally has very few disruptions, at least during the times I have been observing. Occasionally a student may be off task during group work, at which time Mrs. Cykert usually walks over to the group and reminds them of the task at hand, or casually tries to catch the student's eye, and sometimes she will just say the student's name and that is enough to get them back on task. There has been one occasion where students were supposed to be working on a task but three or four students from two groups were being generally disruptive together and not attending to the task at hand, at which point Mrs. Cykert instructed the one group to move to another part of the classroom. They were sitting all together as though it were one big group and not getting any work done, but once she required them to physically separate into two groups the disruptions stopped. Generally Mrs. Cykert ignores disruptions from outside the class as they are usually the result of other teachers or students coming into her room to get supplies that are needed for another class. She continues on with the discussion or lecture that she was doing and lets them go about their business. On the occasion that she needs to address someone from outside the room to answer a question, she generally stops the class, answers the question at hand, then brings the class back on task by restating the last thing she said before the disruption.
From speaking with Mrs. Cykert, I know that she initially had her students seated alphabetically in the class but after realizing some students were more likely to be disruptive when sat together she made a few seating changes to separate these students. She also separated a set of identical twins that she has in her class in order to minimize disruption from the two of them conversing together, and to help keep their identities straight. For the most part the disruptions that Mrs. Cykert has to deal with are from students who are challenging due to the nature of the content of the day, they find it difficult or boring, and so her reaction to them is to listen to them say their piece and then try to explain something in a different manner or relate it to something they may care about. Sometimes those approaches do not work and so she is left with telling them that it is a requirement for them to learn either for testing, standards, or to better understand a future topic. For the most part, however, her students seem to do a fairly good job of respecting the classroom environment and Mrs. Cykert and their fellow students when they are speaking.
Reflections:
I hope to have a classroom environment very similar to Mrs. Cykert's. She seems to have very few true disruptions from the students, and seems to have fostered an environment of mutual respect that is open to inquisition and questions from students. I intend to spend the first few days of each year going over my expectations for my students as well as their expectations of me and of the class, making sure that we are all on the same page about how the class functions and what is and is not acceptable behavior. I think establishing these expectations from both sides early on, as well as enforcing them as issues arise will be the most effective way to have a smooth classroom where the students have respect for the subject and one another's learning environment so that true problems are minimal.
Class Topic: Chemistry Grade: 10, 11, 12 Observed by: Sarah Evans
Game of School Reflection
Prompt: In The Passionate Teacher, Ron Fried describes the Game of School (GOS) as what happens when teachers and students forsake intellectual work and instead engage in their classes as rituals. Take this opportunity to consider this chapter in light of some of the the other experiences that you've had this semester. What elements of the game of school are you seeing in your placements? How have you seen teachers fight the game of school in their classes? What similarities, if any, did you see between the descriptions of American classes in the Teaching Gap and the Game of School? Finally, what impact will this description of the GOS have on your own approach to teaching as expressed in your teaching philosophy?
Observations:
I have seen several students who appear to be trying to play the Game of School (GoS). This has been displayed by things such as trying to claim they didn't know a due date on an assignment, or asking how much will it affect their grade if they do not dress up for their presentation (the requirement being to dress as the scientist they researched), trying to do the minimum to get by. I have seen students try and fake a teacher's mark on assignments that are checked for completion only. However, my cooperating teacher seems to be trying in many ways not to play the game while still not creating too much extra work for herself. She does things like collect students notes that they took during their reading and instead of just checking that they have some, she looks for completeness and key information being present. After the read aloud portion at the beginning of each class, she asks the students some questions, one being about the previous days lesson and the next being about the lesson they will have that day. As she collects the responses from the students, she is able to see how much retention is occurring from one day to the next, or from the reading the night before. She can see if the students are just doing enough to meet the requirements of the assignment or if they are truly engaging in and comprehending the subject. When students claim not to have realized a due date she shows them the board that outlines all the due dates for outstanding assignments that is always updated and in the same place every day.
Reflections:
One thing that my cooperating teacher does that I intend to do in my own classroom is to keep records of all the lessons she has, noting what has and hasn't worked in the past, keeping good and bad knowing that depending on the makeup of the students in the class she may want to use any of the previous years items again. She even knows which assignments she thought would be interesting and engaging for her students but which they essentially just "pencil-whipped" to get them done and out of the way, which I think is an invaluable reference. She often uses the test generators and worksheets provided with the textbook, but as a starting point, not as a replacement for thoughtful planning of exams and homework assignments. She uses them for specific examples but still writes mostly open-ended, mostly subjective assessments that require students to use higher level thinking than just recall. I hadn't previously seen a high school chemistry test that included so many essay-style, open-ended questions that required students to either come up with their own scenario that would fit the question or recall not only names of scientists individually to pair with their atomic theory discovery but six scientists at the same time, requiring them to discuss the impact of each scientist's discoveries and how it relates to today. These questions are amazing to me and designed to help students develop not only their knowledge of chemistry, their critical thinking skills, but also their writing skills that are needed on the NECAP exams. I hope to be able to develop tests like these myself so that I can help build more well-rounded students.
Class Topic: Chemistry Grade: 10, 11, 12 Observed by: Sarah Evans
Rules of Engagement
What are some of the rules you will try when you are a teacher full time?
How do you react to the definitions and guidelines for engaging students?
What strategies are you using to engage your students? To disengage your students?
When I have my own classroom, I think my main rules will focus on preparedness for class, mutual respect between the students and myself and among the students, and an open mind toward learning and new ideas. I agree with the posting by Lori Cullen with regards to rules and student engagement. The classroom she describes sounds a lot like the classrooms described by Haberman as belonging to the pedagogy of poverty. Research by Emdin in 2010/2011 suggests that allowing more free-form classroom interactions leads ultimately to a truly organized and well-running classroom that is noted by mutual respect among the students and between the teacher and the students. Students recognize a teacher that values their input and inquiries, and shows respect for the teacher and learning environment, self regulating as a class to keep outbursts and sidebars to a minimum because they are truly engaged and interested in the class.
Wow. Nice to see you thinking about the research you reviewed regarding student engagement and how it may apply to your classroom. Have you been able to achieve this state, i.e. sufficient "flow" to minimize off-task outbursts in a class this semester? If so, what type of activities lend themselves to this type of classroom atmosphere? - fogleman
Revise YOUR TEACHING RATIONALE BY CLICKING ON THE EDIT BUTTON BELOW
My main belief as a teacher is that every student can learn. This may sound simple and obvious, yet it is not nearly as easy as it seems. My job as a teacher is to find out how each of my students learn and do my best to help them succeed in my class and in life. High school is but a blip on the radar screen for many in the grand scheme of life, and chemistry even less so, and I must not lose track of this fact as one of the seven or so teachers most students see a week.
My background experiences have uniquely prepared me to be a high school chemistry teacher. My bachelor's degree in chemistry and my prior experience teaching general chemistry labs at the university level allow me to have such a firm grasp on the concepts taught that I can focus my time on helping students. Instead of having to stop and think about how to solve a problem when a student calls me over for assistance, I can tell at a glance what they've understood and gotten correct and what they've struggled with. My deeper understanding of this topic allows me to create tasks that can be adapted for students at all achievement levels, and engagement levels.
My deepest desire would be to have engaged students, in any class, any environment. Chemistry is not everyone's love, but can I make it interesting and provide opportunities for students to engage and relate to the material from multiple viewpoints and contents? I enjoy using trade books to convey messages about chemistry, books such as the biography of Marie Curie, and a book that tells a tale about each element on the periodic table of the elements. I seek to find ways to relate the content to students daily lives, including stunning and shocking examples of what seem to be mundane topics such as ionic bonds -- a giant cavern in a mountain in Mexico full of perfect 20 foot tall crystals at 113 degrees Fahrenheit and 95% humidity; or demonstrating that changing H2O to H3O cannot be done to balance a chemical equation because you would be starting with harmless water and "changing" it to acid.
I feel that I am poised to achieve these goals as a teacher, knowing that each day, week, and year will bring new surprises and challenges. I think I am well prepred both in my content area of chemistry as well as in my education preparation to do all in my power to create alearning environment that is welcoming and productive for all learners.
OLD VERSION: My number one goal as a teacher is to display, instill, and nurture a thirst for learning. I have personally had many amazing and memorable teachers at all stages of my education, and the one thing they had in common was that they made the classes they taught interesting. There are many ways to make a class interesting, whether through hands on activities, cross content instruction, or showing them possible career fields and real world applications of the subject at hand.
I believe that cross content instruction has the biggest impact on students, helping them to realize that though they may have 7 different subjects during the course of the day, they aren’t as separate and complete as they may think. I intend to use class readings of related literature to show how chemistry, and science in general, can be seen in subjects such as English and History. Making sure my students can use and understand the metric system is an integral part of chemistry since all measurements must be done or converted to standard units. Mathematics is also evident in things as varied as balancing chemical equations (Algebra) and developing problem solving skills used in identifying unknown substances.
I think chemistry is best learned through hands on inquiry, exploration, and experimentation. I aim to have at least one laboratory experiment or inquiry per unit and I will use them to not only teach the principle at hand but how to properly document data and write reports. Many of the experiments will be opportunities for my students to work in pairs or small groups, learning the social skills of cooperation, teamwork, and individual responsibility within a group. I intend to use materials or concepts that are familiar to the students during the experiments to make it real for them. For example an experiment on mixtures and pure substances could use beach sand collected from various local beaches, allowing the students not only to observe the components that make up the mixture but see how different beaches have different predominant colors to the sand.
I was told from a young age that knowledge is the one thing that can never be taken away from you and that is the reason why learning and education is so important. This has shaped who I am as a person, and I am always looking to learn new things. I hope to nurture this desire in my own students by not only teaching them the topics they need to know from the curriculum but also teaching them how to learn these things on their own. I want to give them the resources to solve problems that arise in school and in life. There has been research done that shows this metacognitive approach is the most effective in science education, as well as other subjects. If you can think about and explain the process you need to solve a problem you are far more likely to fully understand the problem and why the answer is what it is than someone who just knows the answer.
I will use my background in the biotech industry and pharmaceutical manufacturing to relate the topics we are covering in chemistry to real world issues so that the students can see why chemistry is important. My industry experience will also be helpful in explaining to students that the safety precautions and documentation procedures we follow in class are not just something done in high school but necessary at all levels of chemistry work. Discussion of current trends and research in these areas and others will display my own continuing desire to learn as well as hopefully pique the interest of students who want to learn more. I am not afraid to admit when I do not know something and I will do what I can to find out the answer, preferably explaining the process of my search to my students if not having them participate directly.
I am excited to share my love and knowledge of chemistry with my students. I know that they all will not pursue an education or career in the field but I hope that they will at least leave my class thinking that chemistry isn’t too bad and perhaps even fun. If I have given my students the skills and ambition to seek out answers to questions or problems they have, then I will consider myself successful. The image below is of my ibranstorm project showing a few statements that I feel fit my philosophy.
Rationale Synthesis
Memorable teachers have a rationale or teaching philosophy that guides them to develop a learning environment that has a lasting impact on many of their students. The characteristics of such a learning environment could take years to refine in the face of many obstacles and negative pressures. Your guiding vision is an essential beacon for growing as a teacher!
How does a teacher develop a durable vision of his or her teaching. You were asked to reflect on what inspired you to teach and begin working on this vision in the first weeks of EDC 430. After observing your CT's classes, you were asked to refine this vision again at the end of the Fall semester. Now that you are a more experienced classroom teacher and are preparing to compete for a science teaching position, it is a good time to reflect on your observations and experiences that occurred over the year and refine and clarify your vision by considering these questions:
To prepare for this task, I have assembled some of your writings and observations along with your current teaching rationale. After considering these past writings, you can refine your rationale by clicking on the little "edit" button on the right side of the last section at the bottom of this page. If it is no longer applicable, you may choose to delete or update your iBrainstorm graphic if it is still at the bottom of your rationale statement.
The second influence towards teaching was my high school chemistry teacher, Mr. Alsin. I had Mr. Alsin for two years of chemistry in high school, and his class was where I first fell in love with chemistry -- this logical, mathematical science -- which quickly became my favorite class. He kept the subject interesting, introducing laboratory experiments very early in the year, providing different instructional methods for key concepts in addition to those from the book, and genuinely enjoyed his job and the subject. I even remember him hosting other people who worked in science and were considering switching careers to teaching during our AP chemistry class, and I remember thinking that might be a possibility for me as well. As I had transitioned from middle school to high school, my proclivity for math and science lead my teachers to suggest engineering as a career, and it sounded interesting to me and was supported by my parents, so my inclination began to switch from teaching to engineering. But having fallen in love with chemistry at the hands of Mr. Alsin, I chose to study chemical engineering. When I decided to switch my major from engineering to Chemistry, Mr. Alsin was the person I consulted about choosing the best program when I was transferring schools.
The third and final influence towards teaching is my husband and children. When I married my husband, an active duty Marine, we were lucky enough to be stationed in San Diego where the biotech industry provided opportunities for me to work as a chemist and auditor. We were stationed there for four years and I loved my job working in the pharmaceutical industry, learning all about both the regulatory, paperwork side of drug development as well as the laboratory science side of it. However, being a military family we soon moved across the country to North Carolina, which has some great biotech industry areas as well, though we lived near the Marine Corps base which was two and a half hours away in a small coastal town. I did work with a cosmetic and over-the-counter drug company but once I had my son I stayed home with him as the commute was not worth the paycheck. Again the military sent us across the country, again back to San Diego but this time to the north county area. After having my daughter I began to be anxious to return to the "adult" world where I soon realized that my three year absence from the work force would mean virtually starting over at a biotech company, and the commute to the majority of companies would be prohibitive due to distance and traffic with small children. Again the idea of teaching as a better portable career, especially now that I have my two children, began to crop up in my mind.
I decided to look into the teacher certification program through the California State University system since my friend had recently completed the program and highly recommended it. I was looking into the prerequisites I needed prior to applying to the program when we got notified that we were to move to Rhode Island the next month. Sadly this news came while we were at my mother's funeral. Now more than ever I really just felt the need to teach, to be closer to my mother, to bring my love of chemistry to another generation. Once we arrived in Rhode Island, I began looking at the various universities to see if any of them had a program that would allow me to become a chemistry teacher as a graduate student and found URI.
4/5 Sarah - Nicely done. You should add an introductory paragraph that provides an overview/foreshadowing of the influences in your decision to teach. You should look again at your last paragraph to make sure it sums up your experiences as a conclusion.
Observations:
Today, Mrs. Cykert's chemistry students did their first inquiry activity of the year, an activity to determine the density of pennies, and to use the density to determine the composition of the pennies, observing whether the composition seems to vary with the mint date. The students were instructed to form groups of 3 of their own choosing (an evenly divisible number for the class that day) though there ended up being 3 different groups of two who wanted to work together. Mrs. Cykert instructed one of the pairs that they must split up and could each choose which of the other pairs to join unless they wanted her to choose for them. Once the groups were successfully formed, Mrs. Cykert distributed the handout for the activity, which is designed to be an initial inquiry for students, and as such is structured with some questions designed to activate background knowledge and a clear purpose for inquiry, leaving the methodology up to the students. As the students began to answer the questions and formulate their procedures, Mrs. Cykert and I circulated through the classroom, stopping with the groups, asking if they were doing well, and answering questions. When students had a general question along the lines of "how do we do this?" Mrs. Cykert would respond with her own question, guiding them back to the activity. She might ask them what the goal was, what the previous question concerned, or clarified the wording of the question that was written, but never gave the answer to them. I modeled my own actions on this behavior, and tried my best to help the students understand what they needed to do without just telling them what to do.Mrs. Cykert seems to have a good working relationship with most of her students. There are a few students who appear to be the "typical" defiant, anti-authority teenagers who question most things she says or asks of them, but for the most part, her students seem to not only respect but like her as well. Having taught at the school for almost 10 years, she knows the families of many of her students, and often knows students' personally. This mostly comes from her desire to help her students achieve at high levels regardless of their financial or cultural background, while at the same time taking their home situations into consideration when interacting with her students. She makes an effort to ask students how they are feeling if they have been out of class for a few days or if they appear unwell. She comments on a student who was wearing a varsity soccer jacket, telling her it looked good on her -- a way of congratulating the girl for making the team. The students are not hesitant to ask questions, but at the same time they seem to put forth effort to complete the activity without expecting her to tell them exactly what to do.
Reflections:
I really identify with Mrs. Cykert's style of interacting with her students. She doesn't try to be their friend, yet she still makes an effort to know about their lives and what other obligations they may have. Her students are comfortable with her and her classroom is a safe environment for the students. I want to have this type of classroom when I teach. I want it to be somewhere the students are comfortable, free from bullying or outside pressures. I want my students to know that I care about them as people, but that my main goal is still to make sure they learn how to become responsible citizens who can think for themselves.Class Topic: College Prep Chemistry, Penny Density Inquiry activity
Grade: 10, 11, 12
Observed by: Sarah Evans
Observations:
Mrs. Cykert's chemistry class generally has very few disruptions, at least during the times I have been observing. Occasionally a student may be off task during group work, at which time Mrs. Cykert usually walks over to the group and reminds them of the task at hand, or casually tries to catch the student's eye, and sometimes she will just say the student's name and that is enough to get them back on task. There has been one occasion where students were supposed to be working on a task but three or four students from two groups were being generally disruptive together and not attending to the task at hand, at which point Mrs. Cykert instructed the one group to move to another part of the classroom. They were sitting all together as though it were one big group and not getting any work done, but once she required them to physically separate into two groups the disruptions stopped. Generally Mrs. Cykert ignores disruptions from outside the class as they are usually the result of other teachers or students coming into her room to get supplies that are needed for another class. She continues on with the discussion or lecture that she was doing and lets them go about their business. On the occasion that she needs to address someone from outside the room to answer a question, she generally stops the class, answers the question at hand, then brings the class back on task by restating the last thing she said before the disruption.From speaking with Mrs. Cykert, I know that she initially had her students seated alphabetically in the class but after realizing some students were more likely to be disruptive when sat together she made a few seating changes to separate these students. She also separated a set of identical twins that she has in her class in order to minimize disruption from the two of them conversing together, and to help keep their identities straight. For the most part the disruptions that Mrs. Cykert has to deal with are from students who are challenging due to the nature of the content of the day, they find it difficult or boring, and so her reaction to them is to listen to them say their piece and then try to explain something in a different manner or relate it to something they may care about. Sometimes those approaches do not work and so she is left with telling them that it is a requirement for them to learn either for testing, standards, or to better understand a future topic. For the most part, however, her students seem to do a fairly good job of respecting the classroom environment and Mrs. Cykert and their fellow students when they are speaking.
Reflections:
I hope to have a classroom environment very similar to Mrs. Cykert's. She seems to have very few true disruptions from the students, and seems to have fostered an environment of mutual respect that is open to inquisition and questions from students. I intend to spend the first few days of each year going over my expectations for my students as well as their expectations of me and of the class, making sure that we are all on the same page about how the class functions and what is and is not acceptable behavior. I think establishing these expectations from both sides early on, as well as enforcing them as issues arise will be the most effective way to have a smooth classroom where the students have respect for the subject and one another's learning environment so that true problems are minimal.Class Topic: Chemistry
Grade: 10, 11, 12
Observed by: Sarah Evans
Observations:
I have seen several students who appear to be trying to play the Game of School (GoS). This has been displayed by things such as trying to claim they didn't know a due date on an assignment, or asking how much will it affect their grade if they do not dress up for their presentation (the requirement being to dress as the scientist they researched), trying to do the minimum to get by. I have seen students try and fake a teacher's mark on assignments that are checked for completion only. However, my cooperating teacher seems to be trying in many ways not to play the game while still not creating too much extra work for herself. She does things like collect students notes that they took during their reading and instead of just checking that they have some, she looks for completeness and key information being present. After the read aloud portion at the beginning of each class, she asks the students some questions, one being about the previous days lesson and the next being about the lesson they will have that day. As she collects the responses from the students, she is able to see how much retention is occurring from one day to the next, or from the reading the night before. She can see if the students are just doing enough to meet the requirements of the assignment or if they are truly engaging in and comprehending the subject. When students claim not to have realized a due date she shows them the board that outlines all the due dates for outstanding assignments that is always updated and in the same place every day.Reflections:
One thing that my cooperating teacher does that I intend to do in my own classroom is to keep records of all the lessons she has, noting what has and hasn't worked in the past, keeping good and bad knowing that depending on the makeup of the students in the class she may want to use any of the previous years items again. She even knows which assignments she thought would be interesting and engaging for her students but which they essentially just "pencil-whipped" to get them done and out of the way, which I think is an invaluable reference. She often uses the test generators and worksheets provided with the textbook, but as a starting point, not as a replacement for thoughtful planning of exams and homework assignments. She uses them for specific examples but still writes mostly open-ended, mostly subjective assessments that require students to use higher level thinking than just recall. I hadn't previously seen a high school chemistry test that included so many essay-style, open-ended questions that required students to either come up with their own scenario that would fit the question or recall not only names of scientists individually to pair with their atomic theory discovery but six scientists at the same time, requiring them to discuss the impact of each scientist's discoveries and how it relates to today. These questions are amazing to me and designed to help students develop not only their knowledge of chemistry, their critical thinking skills, but also their writing skills that are needed on the NECAP exams. I hope to be able to develop tests like these myself so that I can help build more well-rounded students.Class Topic: Chemistry
Grade: 10, 11, 12
Observed by: Sarah Evans
When I have my own classroom, I think my main rules will focus on preparedness for class, mutual respect between the students and myself and among the students, and an open mind toward learning and new ideas. I agree with the posting by Lori Cullen with regards to rules and student engagement. The classroom she describes sounds a lot like the classrooms described by Haberman as belonging to the pedagogy of poverty. Research by Emdin in 2010/2011 suggests that allowing more free-form classroom interactions leads ultimately to a truly organized and well-running classroom that is noted by mutual respect among the students and between the teacher and the students. Students recognize a teacher that values their input and inquiries, and shows respect for the teacher and learning environment, self regulating as a class to keep outbursts and sidebars to a minimum because they are truly engaged and interested in the class.
Wow. Nice to see you thinking about the research you reviewed regarding student engagement and how it may apply to your classroom. Have you been able to achieve this state, i.e. sufficient "flow" to minimize off-task outbursts in a class this semester? If so, what type of activities lend themselves to this type of classroom atmosphere? -
Revise YOUR TEACHING RATIONALE BY CLICKING ON THE EDIT BUTTON BELOW
My background experiences have uniquely prepared me to be a high school chemistry teacher. My bachelor's degree in chemistry and my prior experience teaching general chemistry labs at the university level allow me to have such a firm grasp on the concepts taught that I can focus my time on helping students. Instead of having to stop and think about how to solve a problem when a student calls me over for assistance, I can tell at a glance what they've understood and gotten correct and what they've struggled with. My deeper understanding of this topic allows me to create tasks that can be adapted for students at all achievement levels, and engagement levels.
My deepest desire would be to have engaged students, in any class, any environment. Chemistry is not everyone's love, but can I make it interesting and provide opportunities for students to engage and relate to the material from multiple viewpoints and contents? I enjoy using trade books to convey messages about chemistry, books such as the biography of Marie Curie, and a book that tells a tale about each element on the periodic table of the elements. I seek to find ways to relate the content to students daily lives, including stunning and shocking examples of what seem to be mundane topics such as ionic bonds -- a giant cavern in a mountain in Mexico full of perfect 20 foot tall crystals at 113 degrees Fahrenheit and 95% humidity; or demonstrating that changing H2O to H3O cannot be done to balance a chemical equation because you would be starting with harmless water and "changing" it to acid.
I feel that I am poised to achieve these goals as a teacher, knowing that each day, week, and year will bring new surprises and challenges. I think I am well prepred both in my content area of chemistry as well as in my education preparation to do all in my power to create alearning environment that is welcoming and productive for all learners.
OLD VERSION:
My number one goal as a teacher is to display, instill, and nurture a thirst for learning. I have personally had many amazing and memorable teachers at all stages of my education, and the one thing they had in common was that they made the classes they taught interesting. There are many ways to make a class interesting, whether through hands on activities, cross content instruction, or showing them possible career fields and real world applications of the subject at hand.
I believe that cross content instruction has the biggest impact on students, helping them to realize that though they may have 7 different subjects during the course of the day, they aren’t as separate and complete as they may think. I intend to use class readings of related literature to show how chemistry, and science in general, can be seen in subjects such as English and History. Making sure my students can use and understand the metric system is an integral part of chemistry since all measurements must be done or converted to standard units. Mathematics is also evident in things as varied as balancing chemical equations (Algebra) and developing problem solving skills used in identifying unknown substances.
I think chemistry is best learned through hands on inquiry, exploration, and experimentation. I aim to have at least one laboratory experiment or inquiry per unit and I will use them to not only teach the principle at hand but how to properly document data and write reports. Many of the experiments will be opportunities for my students to work in pairs or small groups, learning the social skills of cooperation, teamwork, and individual responsibility within a group. I intend to use materials or concepts that are familiar to the students during the experiments to make it real for them. For example an experiment on mixtures and pure substances could use beach sand collected from various local beaches, allowing the students not only to observe the components that make up the mixture but see how different beaches have different predominant colors to the sand.
I was told from a young age that knowledge is the one thing that can never be taken away from you and that is the reason why learning and education is so important. This has shaped who I am as a person, and I am always looking to learn new things. I hope to nurture this desire in my own students by not only teaching them the topics they need to know from the curriculum but also teaching them how to learn these things on their own. I want to give them the resources to solve problems that arise in school and in life. There has been research done that shows this metacognitive approach is the most effective in science education, as well as other subjects. If you can think about and explain the process you need to solve a problem you are far more likely to fully understand the problem and why the answer is what it is than someone who just knows the answer.
I will use my background in the biotech industry and pharmaceutical manufacturing to relate the topics we are covering in chemistry to real world issues so that the students can see why chemistry is important. My industry experience will also be helpful in explaining to students that the safety precautions and documentation procedures we follow in class are not just something done in high school but necessary at all levels of chemistry work. Discussion of current trends and research in these areas and others will display my own continuing desire to learn as well as hopefully pique the interest of students who want to learn more. I am not afraid to admit when I do not know something and I will do what I can to find out the answer, preferably explaining the process of my search to my students if not having them participate directly.
I am excited to share my love and knowledge of chemistry with my students. I know that they all will not pursue an education or career in the field but I hope that they will at least leave my class thinking that chemistry isn’t too bad and perhaps even fun. If I have given my students the skills and ambition to seek out answers to questions or problems they have, then I will consider myself successful. The image below is of my ibranstorm project showing a few statements that I feel fit my philosophy.